Super Rayman: the Guardian of Light!
by Burning Pine Prayers
Summary: This is the story of the Super Mario Bros. Anime Movie...except it happens with the world and characters of Rayman 1. When Mister Dark steals the Great Protoon and kidnaps Rayman's long lost mother, Betilla the Fairy, Rayman and The Magician must venture to the Valley and free 3 powerful Electoons to help save her and bring peace back to the Valley. (Rated T just to be safe)
1. Prologue to a Reunion

**Until I finish work on my REAL Rayman 1 fanfiction, for now I present to you a special type of crossover between _Rayman 1_ and the _Super Mario Bros Anime Movie_. (This is also one of a few stories I'm working on to get my writing creativity back. Do you know what it's like to have a writer's block that lasts over a year?! It's NOT fun!)**

**No, it's not a normal crossover where the characters from this fanfiction end up meeting the characters of this other fanfiction in either ones' worlds. I like writing different kinds of crossovers. Ones that, instead of combining 2 franchises, REPLACES one with the other; the characters from one fandom replace the characters in the other fandom and play THEIR roles in THEIR story, but while still in the former fandom's world. I personally call it a _REPLACER CROSSOVER_! I'm sure at least ONE person on this site has already done this, but I'll explain anyway. (**If there's already a name for this, someone please tell me.)****

**To explain, I'll give an example. Say, hypothetically, you were gonna write a Replacer Crossover between Dragon Ball Z and Resident Evil. Let's say that, instead of the STARS, the group is called the Z-Fighter Squadron or something. And the role of Chris Redfield is replaced by Goku, who, with his best partner and possible love interest Chi-Chi (Jill Valentine) and other best members of the squadron Krillin and Yamcha and Tien (Barry, Enrico, etc etc.), investigate rumors of illegal activity in an underground lab (the Mansion). They're led by Captain Cell (Wesker) who's a double agent that betrays them to the Red Ribbon Army (Umbrella Corporation) and kills Yamcha (Enrico) to keep it covered up. Now they have to fight for their lives in a lab full of androids and robots and bio-warriors (zombies and bioweapons).**

**Get the picture now? Yeah, so, Replacer Crossover. (That DBZ/RE thing actually sounds kinda neat, now that I think about it. What do you think?) This is the same thing, except the Rayman 1 characters replace the roles of the characters in the Super Mario Bros Anime Movie. Still takes place in the Valley, though. **

**Don't worry. If you've seen the movie, you'll know who plays which roles. If not, then just give it your best shot or have fun with it anyway. Though I urge you to watch the movie; MUCH better than the live action one! Notice: The Magician plays 3 roles; one major and 2 minor.**

**This incredibly long author's note (Sorry about that!) and the rest of this puny chapter are basically the introduction to the story. So without further ado, _I OWN NOTHING_ except the idea!**

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><p>Betilla the Fairy wouldn't dare waste her precious breath yelling for help. Her lungs burnt gasping for air, and her limbless feet ached more with every pound into the ground. But she couldn't stop sprinting, not with Mister Dark and his army of Antitoons closing the distance behind her. She couldn't fly anymore; she'd lost so much energy the moment Mister Dark had taken the Great Protoon.<p>

He'd already terrorized the Valley in celebration, imprisoning the Electoons and even burning Pink Plant Woods to the ground, and now he was coming for her. She didn't know whether Mister Dark was genuinely angry because of her resistance to him or if he just wanted to experience the sheer joy of kidnapping and torturing her, but there was no way she'd look back to find out.

Betilla the Fairy knew of only one person who could stop this madness and bring harmony back to the Valley, and she was desperately hoping she would get to him before Mister Dark got to her. She'd created this being what felt like centuries ago for the purpose of bringing light and love to the Valley and keeping the darkness at bay. He was just a baby when Betilla had sent him to a faraway place in the Glade of Dreams; she'd believed it to be the only way to protect him, but now she knew it was her who needed protection by him now that he was old enough to take care of himself.

_I've missed him so much. And now I really do need him. My child, my Guardian of Light...my brave champion. _Lost in her desperate thoughts, Betilla's toes dipped into the ground and nearly made her stumble over her own feet. She cried out as her body dipped forward, but the eager roars and trampling feet of the stampede behind her reminded her of what she was fighting for; Betilla jumped forward to regain her footing. She couldn't use her magic to sprint faster though, or else she would have no more energy for the rift. As a matter of fact, she could finally see she was coming upon the small piece of land where she was supposed to create the portal toward the Guardian.

_The Great Protoon needs a savior, I need a champion, the Valley needs a hero. And that hero is…_

_…._

…lounging lazily in an indoor hammock like Crash Bandicoot, big innocent eyes fixed on a TV screen…


	2. Elegy of a Past Forgotten

**Welcome to chapter 2. If you've made it this far, congratulations and thank you! This is where you'll REALLY start seeing the similarities between this and the Mario Anime Movie (WATCH IT). Basically this chapter marks the beginning of the movie (WATCH IT). The movie (HAVE YOU WATCHED IT YET?) didn't have an intro like the last chapter; I just added that in based off the Magician's dialogue from the GameBoy Advance version of Rayman 1.**

**In this chapter, Rayman finds out what's happening at the Valley, but doesn't tell us his _own_ history until the next few chapters (as in, why he lives where he lives, why he is the way he is, etc.). Not much to tell, but every bit counts.**

**DISCLAIMER: EH, NO. I'LL JUST SAY RIGHT HERE THAT MY DISCLAIMER IN THE FIRST CHAPTER SPEAKS FOR THIS WHOLE STORY. I DO ALSO KIND OF OWN THE THEORY TO RAYMAN'S RING. AND THE NAME I GIVE TO RAYMAN'S SPECIES, THOUGH I BASED IT OFF AN EXISTING RAYMAN WORD.**

**NOTICE: I'VE NEVER PLAYED RAVING RABBIDS: TV PARTY- NOR DO I CARE TO -SO I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT THE GAMEPLAY IS LIKE. I'M NOT EVEN SURE I'M DESCRIBING IT CORRECTLY, MUCH LESS IF HIGH SCORES ON IT EVEN EXIST. I ONLY USED IT BECAUSE, IN THE MOVIE, MARIO WAS PLAYING A GAME THAT LOOKED KINDA LIKE THE MARIO GAMES.**

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><p>Rayman refused to take his eyes off the TV screen for even a millisecond. His white-gloved thumbs navigated the buttons on the controller like a spider weaving a web at sonic speed, and his floating hands made it possible to wave the controller frantically around his body in ways limbed people couldn't.<p>

The ferociously determined teenager was sitting on a hammock in his bedroom playing Raving Rabbids: TV Party when his guardian, known only as the Magician, walked in to check on him. Rayman hardly noticed and paid no attention to him, as he was about to beat a high score, but he'd been around the Magician long enough to know what he always looked like at night: voluminously long golden hair brushed to perfection and combed over his eyes, a thin purple night robe tied together with a dark blue sash, fuzzy black slippers pointed at the tips, and white gloved hands carrying his top hat upside down and letting magic shine out of it for candlelight.

"Rayman, you'll be seeing blue spots in front of your eyes for a week if you keep this up," the Magician warned as he yawned. Rayman usually wouldn't have noticed his voice, but they were the only words in the room; nothing was technically being spoken on the game at the moment. Yawning again, the Magician shrugged and muttered, "Don't say I didn't warn you. 'Night, kiddo." As his shuffling feet left the room and grew softer, Rayman realized he hadn't blinked in several minutes. He squeezed his eyes closed for an uncomfortable second and opened them back up, already seeing lights blending together and dancing around his eyes.

_Hm, maybe he's right. _Rayman thought, quickly blinking twice and shaking his head.

He saved the game, and was just about to turn it off and call it a day (in the middle of the night, though), when the screen zeroed into a small beam of light and turned black altogether. Startled, Rayman rubbed his fists into his eyes, trying to see whether or not it was just another light dancing trick. But when he looked up again the screen had already changed, and it was as if some invisible person was either playing a different game or watching a cutscene on his TV. The screen showed a 2D scrolling platform of a lush green landscape, and a woman whose sunset red hair was her first and most noticeable feature was running- no, _sprinting -_towards the left of the screen. She wore white gloves and a green and yellow dress that matched her elfish hat and pointed shoes. Even with the low graphics, Rayman gazed in awe as he noticed the streams of sweat dripping down her hair as she ran away from a giant dust cloud filled with what looked like Safari hunters and flying Bob-ombs. Except the Bob-ombs had more menacing-looking eyes, white gloves, and white ponytails of hair where the fuses should be; he stared at them, thinking, _Have I seen those before?_

Not able to recall the memory, Rayman looked back at the woman and listened to the panted gasps that sounded like she'd collapse at any second; he wondered how long she'd been running. He also noticed the graphics of the game (movie? Cutscene?) were quickly rising in resolution, allowing him to not only notice the guns in the hunters' hands and the pounding of their feet and the shimmering star and moon shapes on the woman's clothes, but to also notice this woman was out of luck as they started to overwhelm and surround her. She slowed down and turned around in one final resistance effort, and as she threw her hand across the screen with a blinding flurry of light magic force that blew her pursuers backward, Rayman gasped noticing something else. Something all the characters on screen had in common…

_None of them have limbs; they're just like me! __Who would create a video game/cutscene/movie based off me?_

Rayman didn't have limbs; his hands, feet, and head always floated around his torso as if he did. And while this did give him a lot of advantages in life, people always stared at him; the Magician was the only other person he knew who was the same as him. He never took his eyes off the screen and never blinked, and saw that the screen had reached the peaks of its graphics. It was almost in 3D now, and the woman was now running toward the front of the screen and getting closer.

Her head was turned backwards toward her attackers, but Rayman still had a better look at her face. That coupled with the no-limbs discovery, he contemplated, _Have I seen_ her_ before, too?_

Then it happened: the woman looked toward the screen, still running, and shot her hand out. A flash of white light burst forth from her palm and engulfed the screen, and the woman… JUMPED through the light and out of the TV! Rayman cried out as she landed face down directly on top of him, still panting. As he struggled (just barely, though) to get out from under her, he thought in bewilderment, _SHE'S REAL! _

He jumped back a bit and instinctively chewed his gloved nails as she lifted her head towards him, struggling with all her might to catch her breath and pleading with a soft, whimpering voice, "Please help me!"

Even as she said this, the entire plethora of…whatever those things were called came rushing out of the TV after her and flying around the room, bringing their dust cloud with them. The Bobomb-looking things were zooming this way and that checking out their new surroundings while the hunters kept shooting at anything in sight. Rayman just narrowly dodged a small missile with a hand holding a wooden hammer smashing out of it, and several more missiles just like it kept shooting out of the hunters' guns and around the room. They were smashing up the rugs, his hammock, his bed, even knocking around the dresser where he kept his paints. It was utter havoc in Rayman's room, but he didn't expect the Magician to hear it; he was usually a heavy sleeper, and not much noise usually got past the hat he preferred to magically sleep inside even if he wasn't.

Rayman looked back to the woman who was covering her head with her floating hands and saw one of the hunters grab the collar of her dress and try to lift her up off the ground. Knowing full well now that she and all of this were real, Rayman suddenly got angry and felt his body flood with adrenaline. He didn't remember much of what happened next because of the furious adrenaline mixed with the lingering dust cloud, but he remembered enough to know he'd thrown just about every martial arts kick, uppercut, hammerfist, low blow, quick jab, and groin punch he could think of at every creature in the room. He kept at it until there was nothing strange left in the bedroom but silence and an unconscious woman lying face down on the floor.

As Rayman slowed his breathing he could tell that her breaths were getting a little slower as well, though he still didn't think her heavy panting was healthy. He wondered about the poor woman and what she'd been through, and never once had any doubt that he'd done the right thing. _A lady with a face like that could never be evil._ He bent down in curious awe and looked at her more closely; the left side of her dress was yellow and the right was bright green, and the same went for her pointed hat and shoes (the hat was lying in front of her now, but it was a miracle it'd stayed on her head during all that running). On top of the hat stuck out three pink beads on black strands, the parts of her face that weren't flushed red were a tan olive color, and her lips were a shimmering silver lavender. He also took note of the blood red neckerchief wrapped around her waist.

Rayman decided to stop staring at her when she stirred. He jerked back and stood up straight as she hoisted herself up with her hands and tilted her head toward him. She suddenly turned her head to look in all directions of the room until realizing all her pursuers were gone, and she stared back at Rayman. As he looked into her beady, patient eyes, he was overcome with a feeling of nurturing love. Not the kind of love he'd feel for a soul mate, but the kind he'd feel toward a parent or relative or close friend. _I've only ever felt love like this toward my guardian, the Magician; I have to know her from somewhere! _And the moment she smiled warmly and thanked him, he was officially crushed. _That's it; I'm unconscious. I'm dreaming that I've met my long lost mother, _he thought, defeated.

"I…uh…" Rayman tried to form words in his mouth, but he didn't even know where to start. _Who were those guys—who are you-why were they after you—who are you—where did you and them come from—who are you-how'd you get in my TV—WHO. ARE. YOU._

Still breathing heavily, the woman lifted a hand to his face and almost cupped his cheek. She breathed, "My child…this must be a lot…to take in," and put her hand back down. When Rayman was about to finally ask who she was, she continued, "I'm…Betilla the fairy. And you must…be the brave champion…Rayman."

_Huh? Brave? A fairy? What am I champion of? _"How do you know about me?"

"I ran as…fast as I could…to get to you. You're…the Valley's only hope…to get the Great Protoon back." Betilla's breathing was starting to return to normal.

Rayman would've thought she was speaking gibberish from exhaustion, but he was thinking that maybe her words meant something—after all, he'd already witnessed her do and go through bizarre things. He skipped over his words, "I—what are—I don't understand," to which she snatched his hands and pleaded, "Please, you're the only one…who can defeat Mister Dark! I've felt this day was coming…for a long time!"

Startled, he pulled his hands away from hers and held them up in a casual defending stance. "Look, how 'bout you just lay down in my hammock over there and catch your breath," he suggested. "I'll get you some water, and then you can tell me your story."

She was explaining herself with almost normal breaths in between her sentences while she sat up in the hammock (which was miraculously not ruffled at all from the invasion). As Rayman got her a bottle of water from his mini-fridge, Betilla continued in an ominous and desperate tone, "His name is Mister Dark; a sorcerer of the fire arts and a master of darkness and destruction. He's caused mischief in Toon Valley more than once, but this time he means business." He handed her the bottle and listened attentively to her story, and she took it from his hands and gulped down half the water in one go.

"Toon, huh?" He commented. "You mentioned a 'protoon' earlier?"

"_The _protoon. The _Great_ Protoon. As the heart of the Valley, it's the orb responsible for the order and balance of our land. Mister Dark has stolen it and imprisoned the Electoons that gravitate around it. I came looking for the Guardian of Light to help restore harmony to Toon Valley, but Mister Dark sent his army of Antitoons after me because I tried to fight back when he terrorized Dream Forest and stole the Great Protoon. It's only a matter of time before he gets here himself."

"Then we should get you some place safe! I don't know about this 'Guardian' business, but—"

"I _know_ you can help!" she interrupted, putting the bottle on the dresser next to the hammock. "You're the Guardian of Light! Please…come back to the Valley and I'll explain everything else."

No later than she finished that sentence did Betilla's eyes dart to the TV screen and widen as she inhaled sharply. Rayman looked behind him; he'd barely noticed that the TV was still showing the same lush green landscape this whole time, but now a large white-gloved hand was quickly covering the screen and shooting a burst of black energy at it. As the same earlier phenomena happened with a dark figure cloaked in dark blue robes slowly pulling itself hand-first menacingly through the screen, Rayman refused to let his first thought at this shocking event be, _Do _all_ limbless people wear white gloves? _The figure (obviously another limbless person and not just a thing) seemed to be around Betilla's height; its face was covered by some kind of still darkness, but its eyes still shined through with dark yellow and fiery orange color. It was also wearing a wide-brimmed hat the same color as its cloak, except with a violet sash around it.

Whatever spell Betilla had used to get through the screen, obviously this person was not as good at it since it was taking much longer to pull itself through than Betilla had. As for her, Betilla had shuffled off the hammock and was quickly backing toward the nearest wall. "That's Mister Dark," she whimpered. "Rayman, I'm too weak right now. You must defeat him!"

"Well, he doesn't look so—OH MY GOOOOSSSH!" Rayman screeched and looked up as the man once Betilla's height started growing rapidly the more he came out of the TV; he already looked almost twice Betilla's size by the time he got his hands and head through. Rayman couldn't control the shaking of his bones, and, almost forgetting she was the one who needed his help, instinctively backed to the wall and tried to cower behind Betilla. The sorcerer's silence made the encounter all the more terrifying; no growling, no yelling "Betilla!" in a fit of rage, only silence and those soul-piercing eyes of flame fixed on his fairy prey.

"You can do it, Rayman!" Betilla encouraged. "I know you're stronger than him."

He stopped cowering and asked, "How do you know I'm strong?!" He wasn't saying he was strong, but he was definitely the only person he knew who bench-pressed trees on his down time.

"From the ring on your chest; it's bigger than that of most Toons!" She was referring to the giant white ring that always showed through to the front of his clothes, no matter what he wore.

"Wait, _that's_ what that means?"

"Oh, I wish you could remember!"

_Remember what?! _Rayman was about to ask, when a fireball entered the corner of his vision. In an instant, he pulled Betilla to the ground and ducked underneath as it went soaring into the wall and leaving a smoky, black hole. Rayman was stunned stiff and silent, and Mister Dark looked 15 feet tall by the time he got his last foot into the bedroom. The sorcerer had to hunch his head and back down to fit in the 12-foot-tall room. By force of habit, Rayman started to chew on his fingernails even though he was wearing gloves.

"Remember who you are," Betilla pleaded softly in his ear, as if she didn't want Mister Dark to hear her. "Ask the Magician; he'll know everything, champion!" Hearing her call him "champion" motivated him enough to get back on his feet and put his fists up, ready for all-out fisticuffs. Even as he prepared to punch Mister Dark, he was thinking, _Magician? Some other magician or _my _Magician?_ Mister Dark lifted a hand up while his eyes darted back and forth between the two of them, and as he prepared to shoot another fireball Rayman darted forward and hooked the sorcerer in the hand. Mister Dark's hand flew backward, and he felt pretty triumphant…until his glove caught on fire.

Rayman yelped and swatted the flames with his left hand, and being distracted he didn't notice the looming fire eyes right over his head. By the time the flames were gone, Mister Dark was hunched directly over him with his fingers in flicking position. "Uh—" Rayman didn't get a word out before the sorcerer's right thumb and index finger sent him hurling back at the wall and into a world of hurt. His chin hit the floor a second after his back hit the wall, and immense pain rang throughout every part of his body except his hands and feet, most of all at the center of his stomach where he got flicked. The only reason he got back up after that was because he heard Betilla gasp and looked up at her, seeing concern and worry in her eyes. Rayman shook his head to clear his blurry vision and bared his teeth ready to fight again. _I can't give up. I have to fight for her—_

Whatever thought he may have had after that was lost to the casual pounce of Mister Dark's fist onto Rayman's head. His vision went black as he heard—and felt—wood splintering and cracking around him. Not even the pain would register—only his body underneath the floor boards and his head resting on his chest while it stuck out from the floor. Only Betilla's voice calling out his name. Then: "Rayman…take my gift."

His senses started coming back, but still no pain; he felt Betilla's hand on his forehead, followed by an airy tingling in his ring. And then the screams came; upon hearing them, Rayman was jarred awake and full of energy. He snapped his eyes open and shrugged out of the hole in the floor to see Betilla in the air, with Mister Dark's giant hand gripped around her waist and Betilla struggling to get free.

Rayman shook his head again and panicked as the sorcerer turned around and walked back toward the TV. "Betilla!" Rayman yelled, and for some reason shot out his fist thinking it would reach her—only that's exactly what it did! His fist extended away from his body as if nothing had been holding it there at all, and shot toward Betilla. He gaped, wondering, _How'd I _do_ that?! _He'd always wondered before if his fist could ever extend farther outward, and he always tried to force it, but there was always some kind of gravitational force that kept his body parts from extending further than a limbed person's normally would.

But it happened, and their hands locked together as Betilla shot her hand out to meet his—the same way he had, nonetheless!

"Let her go!" Rayman kept his hand latched to hers like a pitbull's teeth to its prey and planted his feet firmly into the ground, but even with Rayman's immense strength Mister Dark was still effortlessly pulling them both toward the TV screen. Rayman had his eyes squeezed shut tight and his hand even tighter around hers as his feet continued to squeal against the hardwood floor, but the moment he opened his eyes he saw a flash of familiar dark energy and the TV filling his field of vision in an instant.

He heard and felt the crash of glass as his face barreled into the screen, and suddenly his back and head were on the floor while his vision was black with spots of hallucinogenic red here and there. Miserable groans, bloodcurdling screams, and splitting headaches surrounded him, and it took longer than healthily for him to realize they were his own. Except for the screams.

_B-Betilla?_

"RAYMAN!"

Feeling small shards of sharp objects on his face, he shook his head once more despite it feeling like pain-jelly and sat back up to look at the TV screen. It now had a jagged, smoking hole in the center. The parts that weren't busted, even if they were still cracked, showed multiple images of that same lush green landscape.

Except now a regular sized Mister Dark was walking through it away from the screen. As he was walking, he lifted his hand out to the side and turned his head (whatever head he might have) to look at it. In the palm of his hand was a miniature sized Betilla trapped in a small glass sphere and banging her fists on it. However hard to read, the words: "Rayman! Please help me! Hurry!" appeared everywhere on the screen, quickly replaced by the words: "Game Over" and the miserable view of Mister Dark and Betilla fading out of sight. "BETILLA!" Rayman flung his hand through the hole in the screen hoping that just maybe he could still do something. When all he felt were broken mechanics and electronics, he grabbed the sides of the TV and started shaking it violently. "Get back here, Mister Dark! I'm not done with you," he shouted at the screen as broken parts started dropping out of the hole.

"_WHAT _is all the commotion_?" _Rayman didn't even look back as he heard the Magician's sleepy voice behind him, only kept his focus on the TV and thought, _Oh, _NOW_ he hears everything?_

"The sorcerer kidnapped the fairy," Rayman stated angrily, realizing full well that he was still shaking the TV in frustration.

He heard the Magician yawn, followed by a lazy, "Come again?"

Rayman continued to babble, "A fairy came through the TV and asked me to help her save the Valley. But the Dark guy took her!"

There was no response for a second, but then the Magician breathed a laugh and said, "Told you all those video games would mess with your head." He yawned again and continued, "I'm sure you can go rescue her in your dreams."

Rayman looked back as the Magician shuffled his feet out of the room again, apparently too tired to even notice the hole in the TV, the splintered dresser, the burn mark on the wall, the paint tubes scattered all over the room, or the hole in the floor.

_But it wasn't a dream; there was pain._ He sighed heavily, too depressed and miserable to even cry. _I had her in my hands, and I just let her go! I'm sorry, Betilla. _Rayman walked back to his hammock to lie down and NOT go to sleep after the incident he went through. But something red caught his eye. He looked down next to the hole in the floor and saw a neckerchief of blood red mixed with scarlet—the same one that had been wrapped around Betilla's waist. Not even bending down, he tried extending his fist again—successfully, once again—to the floor and pulled it toward him. _That lady…I just met her, but around her I feel so_…

Rayman sighed again, cuddled the neckerchief to his face, and closed his eyes. _I _do_ know her from somewhere. But now I'll never get to find out how._

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><p><strong>Sorry I didn't use as much imagery as I could have; "Ready for all-out fisticuffs," yeah, <em>real <em>descriptive. But I was trying to focus more on story than imagery. If I choose to revise it, I will as soon as possible. Anyway… Next chapter, the Magician learns some interesting things from Rayman…_AND VICE VERSA! (BUH BUH BUH!) _**


	3. Frustration of an Unnamed Feeling

**(Rayman's POV)**

_**Candy Chateau.**_

Candy Chateau was the name of the bakery Rayman and the Magician owned and operated. Rayman never found out why the Magician had given the store such a name; when asked, he would simply respond with, "It's a name dear and nostalgic to me!" He would never say anything else on the subject; not even to Rayman, as cherished to the Magician as he was.

The bakery had more than just candy, of course: it had every sweet delicacy you could think of. From pancakes and french toast to crepes and cakes and pies to brownies and cupcakes and ice creams to fudge and caramel and peanut butter to muffins and scones and cookies to licorice and taffy and frostings.

But the special thing about Candy Chateau was that every delicacy, every sweet, EVERYTHING was made by hand and from scratch! Rayman and the Magician never simply ordered frozen waffles or breakfast muffins to decorate them and put them and the display counter, nor did they even use store-bought pancake batter or cookie dough.

The only factory items stored in the bakery were the ingredients used to bake everything; ingredients like water and brown sugar to make maple syrup, marshmallows to make caramel, flour and blueberries to make muffins and pancakes, or chocolate chips and butter to make cookies. Even the peanut butter was made from fresh peanuts, and the ice cream from fresh vanilla and salt; the fudge, the rock candy, and the marshmallow fluff were all made in the bakery. It was a lot of work for two people, but Rayman enjoyed every minute of it as well as the Magician.

Rayman loved how they baked everything naturally instead of with pesky factory food. In fact, he loved everything that had to do with nature in general. He and his guardian always had a subconscious talent for nature. And a love for it, too.

Rayman was never too fond of the city, and no matter what videogames or TV shows would temporarily distract him, he always found himself withdrawing into the forests behind the bakery, just outside of the city. He would always find himself lying down in a daze on the soft grass for hours on end, sharing his feelings with the animals, staring up at the rays of light shining down in patches from the tree tops.

And if he stayed in that peaceful trance long enough, Rayman would swear he could feel the hearts of every blade of grass beating, hear the tree trunks call out to him and reach out with their branches to beckon him to stay, see the sky smiling at him with the sun rays as its sparkling eyes and the soft clouds its many rows of dazzling teeth, not only taste but hear the crystal blue water of the creek flow past his face singing "Good morning" to him, and smell the mud of the river banks being crashed against by the water as they both begged him to stay instead of bidding him goodnight as they darkened in color during the slow fall of the sun beneath the choppy horizon.

Rayman dressed and acted like a city kid, but in his heart he was one with nature, and wouldn't raise his eyebrows in slight mourning if the city he lived in just disappeared off the face of the Glade of Dreams and left him with his forests.

So of course making everything in Candy Chateau by hand instead of simply ordering pre-made foods from some dingy factory, coupled with his daily trips into the forest and the adventurous TV shows and video games he preferred to immerse himself into, was the closest fire escape he had to the soft embrace of the natural world unspoiled by the man-made things he had no choice but to enjoy.

But today, not even the sunrise's hope of morning, the dew glistening off the grass, or the warm, mighty, delightful aroma of hand-made pastries and frosted delicacies could lift him from his morbid, melancholy mood. As predicted, Rayman hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. He'd been too busy lying on his hammock, staring up at his ceiling painted to look like stars and galaxies, thinking of anything he could do to undo the damage that had happened. He wasn't concerned in the slightest about the beating his room had taken; only that benevolent fairy and the malevolent sorcerer who'd taken her. It was the only thing on his mind, and the fact that nothing he could think of could actually help in any way only piled on top of the depression clouding his mind. Rayman couldn't even focus on the customers.

He heard the bell above the door ring every so often. He heard the tapping of eager footsteps into the store and up to the counter. But his uncaring disregard for their attention had driven customers away from him and towards the Magician all morning. All Rayman could focus on were his heavy sighs and Betilla's neckerchief, which he had wrapped around the top of his torso despite not having a neck. He stared at it longingly, twiddling it through his thumbs until another ring of the bell and a familiar red-head caught his attention.

_ Wait! Is that Betil-_

"Hi, Rayman!"

_ Just Betina. _

And her bubbly voice to match her perpetually cheery personality. Betina and Rayman were good friends, and they got along so well because of their personable and warm-hearted natures. But, for some reason he couldn't place, seeing her only further dropped his mood.

_ I wonder why. But I hope she doesn't find out; it'd hurt her feelings._

But while Betina was talking to the Magician about ingredients for lemon squares, it suddenly hit Rayman: Betilla looked an awful lot like her!

_ From the sunset red hair to the yellow and green outfit. Betina's more sporty in her choice of style than Betilla, with the acrobat suit and short ponytail, but..._

* * *

><p><strong>(Betina's POV)<strong>

Betina was always eager to walk into Candy Chateau; the air was so much lighter in comparison to the city, cleaner even, with the bright and bubbly personalities of its workers. So when she opened the door expecting the warm grins of her two most hyperactive friends, Betina was absolutely caught off guard, dumbstruck by the image of Rayman's smile turned upside down. His giant, wondrous eyes were drooping and teary while focusing on a crimson neckerchief he kept twiddling between his thumb and index finger; his perpetually dazzling smile was non-existent and his mouth now unrecognizable, the left side held up uncomfortably by his left fist while the other just hanging by a thread to keep from falling to the floor. She could even go so far as to say Rayman had lost a lot of color in his skin and clothes.

The sight was tear-jerking, really.

_5 years I've known him, and I've never even seen a sad sigh escape his lips. I'd better go and cheer him up._

Save for the ovens and mixing vats in the back, only Betina's combat boots slowly carrying her away from the Magician and toward Rayman's corner of the counter broke the uncomfortable silence. And the image of the Magician, usually eccentric and enthusiastic, looking toward his adopted son dumbfounded and confused made the heaviness of the situation even more miserable.

Betina put her forearm horizontally on the counter with closed eyes and an ear-to-ear grin and exclaimed another, far more enthusiastic, "Hi, Rayman!" Rayman looked at her from the corner of his eye in 45% confusion and 55% irritation.

_That didn't come out right, _thought Betina as she dropped her grin and rubbed her head in embarrassment.

_Try again, I guess. _Betina cleared her throat and grinned again.

"So... you gonna flip that frown upside down anytime soon?"

_Crap; failed again! _

In all her eighteen years of life, Betina had never been very tactful. She'd spent 9 years learning acrobatics and 5 years entertaining circus audiences against her will, but never how to talk professional to people; not even to her friends.

In fact, Betina didn't pay much attention to her poor choice of words until Rayman's fist clenched painfully tight around the neckerchief and his teeth grinded together, obviously in anger of her bluntly avoiding his bad mood.

Betina gulped; she originally could never think of Rayman as having a bad side, but her years of acrobatic experience wouldn't be very useful to a guy who could break her neck like a twig. Not that Rayman could make Playdough out of steel bars like Lac Mac could, but his strength was pretty close.

Betina could feel the watchful eyes of the Magician on her, and silently begged him to break this ominous silence. He thankfully delivered, as he helped their thoughts circle back to the topic at hand and exclaimed enthusiastically, "Hey, Rayman; Betina's looking to you for ingredients for lemon squares! Think you could hook her up?"

Rayman seemed to snap out of anger and fall right back into depression. He let out a sigh and let go of the neckerchief, his other hand still firmly holding his cheek up. He reached his free hand up to the shelves to his right and ... without looking, just started to grab random ingredients.

* * *

><p><strong>(Magician's POV)<strong>

Both of them know the lemon square recipe inside out since it's Betina's favorite, so it made sense to the Magician that Rayman wasn't looking at the shelves when he pulled out the ingredients. But while he was placing them on the counter, the Magician noticed something- none of the ingredients were even _remotely _similar to the recipe! In front of Betina was an unkempt hodgepodge of random ingredients. Rayman absent mindedly replaced eggs with grape jelly, for lemon juice he had brought out apple cider, and instead of powdered sugar he put plum leaves on the counter; where the rest of the ingredients should have been, Rayman left cinnamon, smooth peanut butter, orange peels, nutmeg, and chocolate chips.

Needless to say, Betina was furious; Rayman had this recipe memorized and could get the ingredients for it off the shelf blindfolded, and he would always help her with a dazzling smile on his face, so he was obviously in too bitter a mood to care about her situation. The eerie silence between the three of them put an annoying ringing in the Magician's ears and an unsettling taste in his mouth...a taste that snapped straight to sour the moment the silence was broken by a fist slamming on Rayman's section of the counter and the _thump thump thump _of ingredients spilling onto the floor. Now, it seemed, Rayman wasn't the only one acting out of character.

"Rayman! If you're too angry to help me even a little bit, I'll just get my ingredients at the market, you stupid jerk!"

Rayman seemed to snap from oblivious to desperate, and yelled to Betina while she was storming out, "B-but Betina... the ingredients! You-"

"Then you'd better clean them up," interrupted Betina as she ripped the door open, nearly smashing the bell on top.

"I'm not mad at you; please come back!" Rayman pleaded. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings!"

The Magician had never felt so awkward and speechless in his entire life; and he'd been caught in a LOT of awkward and speechless situations before! All as Betina slammed the door was lift his hat an inch off his head and yell, "Come again soon," like a bumbling idiot; it's been quite a long time since something had rendered the Magician speechless.

While putting his hat back on, he noticed Betina's shadow linger lazily, and almost pitifully, outside the window before walking away.

_I guess she considered coming back in to help? What a troublesome morning; and untidy, too!_

One last _thump _and the slightest sound of cracking wood interrupted the Magician's thoughts. He turned to see Rayman had dropped his head into the counter, moaning in self-pity and regret. "I didn't mean it," he moped. The Magician didn't know whether to be furious with Rayman for driving customers away or to go to over and comfort him. It was obvious Rayman was lamenting over something, and the Magician needed to find out what that was _pronto!_

But as Rayman dragged himself back up to a standing position, a slight bruise forming on his forehead, the Magician felt dumb that he hadn't noticed the red neckerchief before. How a Toon would be able wear a neck accessory was beyond him (for obvious reasons), but Rayman had it snuggled perfectly on top of his torso and made it work. It actually made Rayman's outfit look more creative and colorful; the crimson red really made the purple shirt stand out more, while toning down the brightness of his ring.

_Good; that ring has always been a distraction to custo- WHY am I focusing on a dumb accessory?! I should be talking to Rayman!_

The Magician walked over slowly and put a gentle hand on Rayman's head. They weren't related by blood, but he'd made a promise to a dear friend to raise this kid, and he couldn't think of Rayman as anything but a son even if he tried. The Magician cared deeply for him, and his heart would swell every time he looked into those big, brown, innocent eyes.

Rayman slumped away from the Magician and moped, "I'll pick up the ingredients." With a sinking head, Rayman unlocked the little wooden door separating him from the customer section of the store and shuffled toward the trashcan. Rayman obviously still couldn't focus, as nothing had spilled nor broken, creating no need to throw anything away. Sighing, he told Rayman to sit down and bent to pick up the containers. As Rayman brought up a stool, the Magician piled the fallen foodstuffs into his hands and asked, "Rayman, you've been in a blue funk all morning; what's...what is...wr-wrong?" He could no longer focus on his words. That neckerchief...

_It's so familiar... Could it...be...THAT'S UNBELIEVABLE! She had one just like it! IS THAT THE SAME ONE?!_

* * *

><p><strong>(Rayman's POV)<strong>

Rayman didn't question why the Magician wasn't using his wand to clean up; he used his hands and not his magic only when he was focusing on something important. But Rayman couldn't find the right words to describe his situation; if he talked about last night, he was afraid it would be scoffed as a dream again. With an empty mind and a stalled mouth, Rayman just swung his feet back and forth from the stool, looked down, and went back to twiddling the neckerchief between his left thumb and index finger.

_Betilla...you told me to ask him, but what if he doesn't believe me? What if you were thinking about someone else?_

His thoughts interrupted by an excited, almost desperate, "Where'd you get that?", Rayman was taken aback as the Magician snapped toward him and shot his hand toward the neckerchief. Rayman had never smacked someone's hand away from anything, especially not the Magician's, but...

"OW! What was that for?"

"Don't touch it! It's Betilla's," Rayman stated sternly, then turned away and caressed it like a madman rubbing his stolen treasure.

"Be...tilla?"

"Yeah, the fairy. From last night."

"Your dream, huh?"

The Magician then brought up a stool and sat next to him. "So, Rayman. Tell me more about this... dream of yours."

_Guess I should just come out with it._

"Okay, uh...well, a fairy appeared in my room. But she wasn't short like other fairies. She was tall; like, a little taller than you." The Magician had half a head over Rayman.

_It looks like he's listening. That's good._

Rayman continued, "She said she was running from a sorcerer named Mister Dark. Said this guy stole the source of power from her land. Let me remember... oh yeah! He stole the Great Protoon from Toon Valley!" Rayman was glad he hadn't slept last night; he probably wouldn't have remembered this too well otherwise.

He heard the Magician mutter something under his breath, something that sounded like, "She's in trouble, huh?"

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

_Is it just me or did he sound kinda defensive?_

"Rayman, you usually tell stories with a lot of passion. Hearing you talk bluntly is a tad bit unsettling. Tell me more about it."

"Oookay." Going back on track, Rayman got to the part where Betilla was kidnapped. "He came through the screen and just knocked me out with one hit! Then Betilla got over to me and, all of a sudden, I felt this weird tingling in my ring; and then I had a new power! So I got back up, and Mister Dark had grabbed her. I tried to save her, but he disappeared and took her with him!"

"Hmmm...really."

"I'll prove it! Look what I can do now!" Rayman then shot his fist to the bell on top of the front door, obviously beyond his normal reach. When his fist came back to him, Rayman was pleased to see his guardian absolutely dumbstruck. Not even _he _could do that; _he _who'd spent his entire life mastering complicated spells and potions and wizard culture! Now all he could muster was, "Huh."

"Believe me now?"

The Magician looked to the left, as if trying to spot something from an unimaginable distance. Or maybe to remember something? Without looking back to Rayman, he asked in a slight daze, "Do you- oh, I don't know-... feel close to this fairy by any chance?"

"Yes; like my own mom or something! How'd you know?"

"Oh! Uh," he tripped over his words almost defensively. "Well, you just look so sad! You're absolutely devastated over someone you've never met! And, so, I figured... well, doesn't this seem a little fantastical to you?" The Magician was twiddling his thumbs.

_Since when does he twiddle his thumbs?! -And since when he does he look so serious and dizzy- Why is he being so defensive? -Does he know something I don't?- He's so out of character today- EVERYONE'S being so stubborn!_

Millions of untraceable thoughts and questions zoomed through his head. His whole life, Rayman had never felt so insecure and awkward around _anyone_, especially not around his guardian. He loved the Magician like his own dad, and was a little nervous to be thinking of someone like his own mother when his guardian had done so much to give him a normal life, but now his father figure was doing virtually nothing at all and yet still made him feel awkward and impatient.

Accidentally putting up his own defense, Rayman exclaimed, "You don't believe me; I knew it!" He folded his hands in as best as he could being a kid with no arms, and turned his head away. But out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the Magician had turned his back Rayman's direction. Rayman shifted his eyes toward him, and found, much to his displease, that the Magician was looking down at the neckerchief with want in his eyes, as if he felt the accessory belonged only to him and was jealous of Rayman.

But, still, Rayman never thought _anyone_ could look both determined and dazed at the same time, much less his guardian! The Magician muttered a final, "Uh...huh," seemingly unaware of what Rayman had just said. _Completely_ unaware, obviously, s the Magician gave Rayman an annoyingly coy ear-to-ear smile and patted him on top of the head three times.

_That jerk; he knows I hate being treated like a little boy!_

Or maybe he _wasn't _being ignorant of his words; for barely even a half-second after the third _pat _did the Magician snap his hands toward the neckerchief and rip it away from Rayman!

_What the- since when DOES HE STEAL THINGS!? GIMME THAT BACK!_

"Hey", was all Rayman could yell before the Magician exclaimed, "Sorry, kiddo; looks like our time's up," then, with feet like lightning sped out the front door.


End file.
